She was only 16, only 16...
Posted: Fri Jul 15, 2011 9:58 pm
Only 16? Something in the water there?
Green Mile actor Doug Hutchison and his teen bride Courtney Stodden have spoken out to defend their union in a hope of silencing the critics.
The actor, 51, and the 16-year-old spoke to Good Morning America about how they fell in love and how they have approval of Courtney's parents.
'The way we met was really beautiful,' Courtney told talk show host Lara Spencer.
'My mother was managing my career. Her friend told my mother that he holding some workshops for acting. And I was very interested in acting. So what better way than to connect that way?'
'She sent me an email. And our exchange, at first, was just really about business,' Doug then said.
'Totally innocent,' Courtney added.
But with Doug living in Los Angeles and Courtney, an aspiring pop star, living in Washington State they maintained their relationship via email with Courtney making the first move romantically.
'Did I?' she said, laughing.
'Yeah, she was being very flirtatious,' Doug said.
'Well come on, he's so handsome,' Courtney countered.
'It was a really beautiful and unique way to get to know someone, because we didn't have the distraction of the physical…. We could only get to know each other through our words and our sentiments,' Doug claimed.
Doug admitted that when he first saw pictures of his future wife on her website he assumed she was in her 20s saying that it was a shock to learn she was only 16.
'My world turned upside down…. It didn't make me want to walk away, but it definitely was a struggle inside my heart … because I had already started falling for her.'
When they realised the connection was there, Doug decided to talk to Courtney's parents, Krista and Alex, who had been monitoring their daughters contact with the star.
'I said, Krista, I don't know if you know this or not, but your daughter and I are falling in love…. If you and Alex have any misgivings whatsoever about this … I will respect you, and Courtney will respect you. And we will step back.'
'So [Krista] said, 'I can feel my daughter's love for you. I can feel it inside of my heart,' Hutchison said.
'Uh-huh,' Courtney affirmed, 'inside of her soul.'
The teenager's parents gave their blessing and the couple married on June 21 in Las Vegas.
'I was a virgin,' said Courtney. 'I knew that if I kept that, I would really be blessed with a beautiful gift. And God did. He blessed me with my soulmate. So I'm really thankful for that.'
Courtney could be sure of this, she said, because she was very mature for her age. 'I'm an old soul. And Doug can back me up on this.'
'Yeah, I always joke with Courtney that one of the reasons we worked is 'cause she's 16 going on 36, and I'm 51 going on 21,' Hutchison said before claiming that the pair have hardened to all of the criticism they have faced.
'I'm a pervert, Courtney is a whore, Courtney's parents are the worst parents in the world - pimps selling their daughter,' he said.
'People are welcome to their opinions.'
The couple are reportedly looking to feature in their own reality show and plan on starting a family at some point in the near future.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/ar ... z1SDJ4iiVR
